Mother of exonerated man Leonard Cure who was shot dead by cop during traffic stop says he didn’t deserve to die on the side of the road – and tearfully says ‘I hate Georgia’ as she demands justice
The mother of Leonard Cure, the acquitted man shot dead by a traffic police officer in Atlanta this week, has made an emotional plea for justice, adding: “I hate Georgia.”
Mary Cure, a Florida resident, made her heartbreaking comments Thursday during a news conference hosted by civil rights attorney Ben Crump. ‘Sorry, but this is my baby. And I want justice for him… My heart is closed and my soul hurts,” the grieving mother added.
Her son was shot and killed by Camden County Sheriff’s Deputy Buck Aldridge after he was pulled over, accused of reckless driving and speeding. Video released by the sheriff’s office showed Cure refusing to comply and attempting to assault the deputy before being tasered and shot.
It has since emerged that Aldridge was fired in 2017 from a previous job with the Kingsland Police Department, in southern Georgia, where he allegedly picked up a woman and threw her to the ground during a traffic stop.
At the time of Mary Cure’s comments, she had not yet seen the video. “I don’t know what happened out there, but I can tell you there was nothing so bad that he deserved to die.”
At a news conference Thursday, Leonard Cure’s grieving mother declared: ‘I hate Georgia’
Family members suspect that Leonard Cure resisted arrest because of psychological trauma he suffered while imprisoned in Florida for 16 years for an armed robbery he did not commit.
She added that her son had just visited her in Florida the weekend prior to the shooting. During his drive home, the pair chatted via FaceTime.
“Then he said, ‘I love you and I’ll see you soon.’ That’s the last I heard from him,” she said.
She spoke of her fear that her son would become the victim of a traffic stop.
“Every time he left, I felt uneasy because I thought, ‘Is he going to get a traffic stop? Is he going to be a victim of that.’
While defense attorney Ben Crump said, “When that officer said, ‘I’m going to arrest you and take you to jail,’ he was triggered.”
These sentiments were echoed by Cure’s brother Michael, who said this in an earlier interview with The Associated Press.
“I believe there may have been some issues going on, some mental issues with my brother. I know him very well. The officer just triggered him, no doubt triggered him. It was excitement and excitement,” he said.
‘He should actually still be alive. The officer hit him with his baton and bagged him, twice in fact. But he didn’t have to shoot him,” he continued.
Monday’s traffic stop quickly turned violent after Aldridge deployed his Taser against Cure when he refused to put his hands on his vehicle
Aldridge was fired from a previous job with the Kingsland Police Department in 2017 for violating the use of force policy
Buck Aldridge fatally shot unarmed man Cure during a traffic stop near the Georgia state line on Monday after Cure refused to submit to arrest and the two got into an argument
Regarding the 2017 incident, an internal investigation report includes comments from another officer involved in the arrest who said he thought Aldridge’s response was “a bit over the top.”
A second officer said: ‘I see a police officer being way too aggressive at first. He didn’t feel like picking her up and throwing her on the ground.’
The personnel files obtained by News4JAX also reveal that Aldridge received several warnings about his conduct in the years leading up to his dismissal.
In 2013, a performance review found that there was room for improvement in his judgment and decision-making. A comment from the record advised him to be “calm, cool, collected.”
The following year he was warned for unnecessary use of force during a traffic stop.
During his five years at Kingsland, Aldridge completed 618 hours of training, including issues such as de-escalation techniques, use of deadly force and traffic stops.
Experts speculated that despite his history, he could have been given a new police role due to personnel issues.
Cure was convicted in 2003 of the armed robbery of a drugstore in Dania Beach, Florida. He was sentenced to life in prison due to previous convictions for theft and other crimes.
The sheriff’s office has placed the deputy, whose name has not been released, on administrative leave amid an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
But in 2020, his conviction was overturned after a judge ruled there was no solid evidence and that his alibi had been overlooked.
On Monday, Cure was on his way home from visiting his sick mother in Florida when he was stopped by Aldridge.
Bodycam footage showed a heated argument between the men after Aldridge accused Cure of driving 100mph.
The incident escalated when Cure refused to put his hands on his vehicle, prompting Aldridge to deploy his Taser.
The altercation then turned physical, with the two engaged in a fight until Aldridge managed to overpower Cure, who continued to resist arrest.
Aldridge shot Cure as he lay on the ground, with footage showing him then trying to revive him until first responders arrived.
His death has reignited conversations about police brutality in the US